Finmeccanica celebrates the 55th anniversary of the Frecce Tricolori

Finmeccanica highlighted its position at the forefront of Italian aeronautical technology during a celebration to honour the 55th anniversary of the Pattuglia Acrobatica Nazionale (PAN) aerobatic team, nicknamed the Frecce Tricolori. The event took place on the 5th and 6th of September at the military airport in Rivolto near Udine.

The event provided an opportunity to showcase Finmeccanica’s leading-edge products in front of an audience comprising national and international authorities and public visitors. Finmeccanica products were already deployed by Italy’s armed forces and numerous international customers and range from combat and training aircraft to unmanned air vehicles, multi-role helicopters and the innovative tiltrotor.

Mauro Moretti, Finmeccanica’s Chief Executive Officer and General Manager said: "For years, Finmeccanica has worked alongside our Armed Forces to develop world-class technological solutions. The aim of this effective collaboration has been to provide the best solutions for Italian and export requirements and to promote our country’s industrial and military excellence. The tradition of aerobatic excellence demonstrated by the Frecce Tricolori, who fly Finmeccanica MB-339s, is testament to Italy’s leadership in the aeronautical field."

The star of the event was the Frecce Tricolori team’s aircraft, the Finmeccanica MB-339. The aircraft’s sophisticated man-machine integration allows the team to push their skills to the limit and put on a show that has made Italy famous all over the world. The MB-339 has also been a great commercial success, having been acquired by nine Air Forces (Italy, UAE, Peru, Argentina, Malaysia, New Zealand, Ghana, Eritrea, Nigeria) and been used since 2010 by Al Fursan (The Knights), the United Arab Emirates’ aerobatics team.

At the show, Finmeccanica exhibited new products including its M-345 training aircraft, which will carry PAN livery to mark the occasion. The M-345 offers low operational costs and high flexibility. In the helicopters field Finmeccanica will display the revolutionary AW609 tiltrotor,